


Destiny

by flowing_river



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Kidnapping, Medical Inaccuracies, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Whump, probably, slow burn found family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:20:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22220188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowing_river/pseuds/flowing_river
Summary: “James MacGyver,” the Walsh says, “As you can see, I have your son.”The Walsh gestures toward Angus and one of the men roughly pulls his head up by his hair, jamming his gun under his head.“You know what I want and I’m giving you 3 days. After that, well, Angus will wish he was dead.”Jack Dalton never went back to the army after working for the CIA, instead he joined DXS to work with his partner Riley Davis. Angus MacGyver never met Jack Dalton and went back to MIT after being discharged from the army. But when Mac is kidnapped from MIT, can Riley and Jack find him in time? And why is James acting to secretive about Mac?
Relationships: Angus MacGyver & James MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Angus MacGyver & Matilda "Matty" Webber (MacGyver TV 2016), Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), James MacGyver & Jonah Walsh (MacGyver TV 2016), Riley Davis & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Wilt Bozer & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 192
Kudos: 205





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!!! I know it's been a while, but I haven't disappeared. Hopefully I can update this weekly, but I'm not sure about how busy I'll be. I hope y'all will enjoy this!!!

It all starts off as a normal day. Jack wakes up to a message on his phone from Matty to get to the war room ASAP. He gets ready as quickly as possible and possibly breaks a few speed limits getting to DXS. Riley is already waiting in the War Room for him, sitting on one of the couches with her laptop open.

Matty, for once, doesn’t say anything about him being late, instead pulling up a file on the screen and gets started on their briefing.

“This is Angus MacGyver, age 22. He was an EOD tech in Afghanistan for 3 years until he was discharged about 2 months ago. When he returned to the states, he went back to MIT to complete his degree. And as of last night, he is missing.”

Jack carefully examines the picture of the young man, who looks like more like a teenager than an adult.

“And?” Jack says to get Matty to continue.

“And we need to find him,” she says.

“I pulled up all the footage from MIT and I can’t find any footage of him leaving campus, it’s like he just disappeared overnight,” Riley cuts in.

“Any enemies or anything?” Jack asks.

“Only people I could find were some bomb makers in Afghanistan, but I doubt they would kidnap him. They want him dead,” Riley says.

“So, we have no leads and why are we even looking for this kid? Can’t the police handle this?”

“Normally they would, but this is Oversight’s son,” Matty says, making a face that Jack can’t read.

_Of course. No wonder he got into MIT and got discharged when he realized he wouldn’t survive Afghanistan._ He’s used to dealing with rich, entitled kids, but he doesn’t enjoy it. _They always act like they’re above everyone else._

Jack sighs, “Fine, let’s get to work.”

* * *

They’ve been working for hours and they haven’t found any evidence that can help them find Angus. And just when Jack decides they should call it a day the video comes in.

There’s a man kneeling on the floor, his hands tied behind his back. Despite not being able to see his face, Jack can tell that it’s Angus judging by his longish blond hair.

Angus is surrounded by men holding guns. None of their faces are covered and Jack knows Riley is already running facial recognition. One man steps forward. The leader, Jack figures, based on the fact that his weapon isn’t drawn. He doesn’t recognize the man, but Matty does based on her sharp inhale.

“Jonah Walsh,” she says.

“James MacGyver,” the Walsh says, “As you can see, I have your son.”

The Walsh gestures toward Angus and one of the men roughly pulls his head up by his hair, jamming his gun under his head.

“You know what I want and I’m giving you 3 days. After that, well, Angus will wish he was dead.”

Walsh reaches toward the screen like he’s about to turn the camera off when Angus starts laughing. The gun is pushed up harder under his chin, but that doesn’t seem to stop him.

“That’s what you have me here for? Sorry to break it to you, but you got the wrong man.”

Whatever Angus tries to say next is stopped by the man moving his gun from under his chin and hitting him on the side of his stomach. The blow isn’t hard, yet Angus curls up in pain, falling to his side and curling up to try and protect himself as best as possible.

The video goes dark to the Walsh’s twisted smile and the desperate look in Angus’ eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack has to admit he changes his opinion on Angus after watching the video. When he had seen Angus’ file earlier and seen all the things James had pulled strings to get done for him; get him into MIT with a full scholarship, get him assigned to the best EOD as his CO, get him transferred out of a team he didn’t want to be with, and even getting him discharged instead of putting him on injury leave from the army, Jack’s blood had boil.

But seeing the video and the man hitting Angus on the exact spot where he got shot had made him feel something different. Maybe it had been remembering the report he read on the injury that got Angus discharged. The medical team missed part of the bullet and the wound got terribly infected when he was back in the states forcing Angus to go through surgery again. The same reports said he hasn’t even gotten his stiches removed yet or fully recovered from the infection and now he was in the hands of some cartel members.

Or maybe it was that Angus reminded Jack a bit too much of Riley. They seemed to have the same sarcastic attitude and that look in their eyes. The one that says that they’ve been through so much, but they won’t stop fighting.

Jack still fondly remembers the day he got the phone call. He had left the CIA, packed his bag, and almost at the airport to catch his flight to Afghanistan when the call had come. He remembers Thornton telling him about a job offer at a place called DXS. He had refused at first, using his flight as an excuse, but when Thornton had informed him about his partner being Riley Davis and DXS taking care of his deployment, he couldn’t refuse.

And he never regretted it. Riley hadn’t been surprised when she saw him, but he could tell she was still upset with him. It had taken her time, a few life and death situations, and a few heart-to-heart conversations before she decided to truly forgive him. And when they found out about Thornton’s betrayal, that made their bond stronger.

When Matty became director after that, it was Jack’s turn to struggle and Riley’s turn to help him. It had taken some time, but Jack and Matty managed to smooth things out.

Everything had gotten better after that. Their missions had been more successful, but more than that, Jack had gotten close once again to Riley and Matty. And now Riley was more like a daughter to him than ever before.

But none of that explains why Jack can’t get those desperate blue eyes out of his head. Jack sighs, playing the video again to try and find some clue that can help them find Angus. But he can’t find anything at all. Jack resists the urge to go down to the gym and beat up a punching bag, there’s no time for that right now.

Jack sighs again and decides to go through the video one more time when James MacGyver walks into the room.

“You wanted to see me, Director?” he asks.

“Yes, sir,” she says, “We received this video about and hour ago about Angus.”

She plays the video on the big screen and Jack carefully watches Oversight’s expression. He doesn’t seem too concerned; in fact, he looks more annoyed that Angus got himself into this situation. He sighs once the video is done.

“What does he want?” Jack finds himself asking.

Oversight turns to look at him with that annoyed expression Jack is really starting to hate and says, “KX7. It’s a drug I tried and developed to make soldiers better than they are, but it didn’t really work out.”

“Didn’t really work out?” Riley asks.

“Anyone who was injected would have a heart attack within a few minutes. I dropped the research when I realized how dangerous it is.”

“So why would Walsh want the drug? If he wanted to kill someone, there are plenty more options,” Riley says.

“Well, he thinks I can fix the heart attack issue. I assume he wants me to give him a version that works,” James says.

Jack makes sure to keep his expression neutral, despite the fact that Oversight’s condescending tone of voice always makes him feel like punching him. Especially when he uses it on Riley. Lucky for him, they barely ever see Oversight.

“How does Walsh even know about this drug?” Jack suddenly realizes.

“That doesn’t matter,” James snaps, “Based on this video, I’ve decided to drop this case.”

“What?” Jack and Riley say.

“You heard me. I’m not going to give Walsh such a dangerous drug.”

“But…that’s your son,” Riley says.

Jack has never seen such a horrified expression on her face before, despite all the death and destruction they’ve seen. Jack is sure he has a similar expression on his own face.

“He doesn’t deserve any special treatment because of that. Besides, he got himself into the situation, he can get himself out if he’s listened to anything I’ve ever taught him.”

“Can’t we just fake a drug and trick Walsh?” Riley asks, desperate to do anything that can help Angus.

“To much risk in that, Angus’ not worth it.”

“Not…worth it?” Riley repeats, somehow looking more horrified than before.

Jack doesn’t realize that he’s clenched his fist and taken a step towards Oversight, until Matty shoots him a sharp look. _Not now._

“Is that all?” Oversight asks, like even these 5 minutes they’ve spent with him were a waste of him.

“Yes, sir,” Matty says, with a seemingly calm expression on her face. But Jack knows better, he can see the hint of anger in her eyes, she’s just as upset as they are.

“Good,” Oversight says and walks out without another word.

All three of them stand there in shock after what just happened. Jack is extremely confused, James doesn’t even seem to care about Angus, yet he pulled all those strings for him. Jack tries to focus on those thoughts instead of the ones that are telling him to go after Oversight and punch him in the face. Hard. He hasn’t even met Angus and he already feels protective of him.

He can tell Riley feels the same way, she keeps clenching and unclenching her fist, murmuring curses under her breath. He looks at Matty who seems to be confused about something.

“What was that about?” Jack asks.

Matty shakes her head, “Go home. The case is dropped.”

“You don’t really expect us to-”

“You guys have been working hard,” Matty interrupts, “I think you should take a week off. Can I come join you later?”

Jack smiles, the case is still on.


	3. Chapter 3

Mac is confused. He knows enough about kidnappings to know that the kidnapper always wants _something,_ but he can’t figure out what it is. He has no idea who these men are and what they have to do with his father.

After James walked out on him when he was 10, he seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet. No one could figure out where he was and if he was even alive. James becoming involved in criminal activities had crossed his mind before and that seemed like the only logical conclusion right now.

Mac groans as he tries to get up off the cold, concrete floor of the cell he’s lying on, where the men tossed him after his last beating. Apparently he didn’t look ‘scared enough’ for the hostage video they filmed.

After a few attempts at getting up, he gives up. It’s not like he’s going to get anywhere with a guard constantly at his door after his last failed attempt to escape that also ended with a beating.

Mac analyzes the room once again to try and find something, _anything,_ that could possibly help him escape. Because he knows there’s no one James is going to save him and in a few days he’ll be wishing he was dead…

* * *

Jack and Riley set up base in Jack’s apartment. They have more than enough weapons there and most of Riley’s equipment as well. Riley continues trying to trace the video or find some clue from it while Jack looks over any file he can get his hand on that could possibly help them find Angus. Neither of them talk about their encounter with Oversight until Matty shows up.

“Why did James ask us to look for Angus in the first place if he was going to drop the case?” Jack asks as soon as she sits down.

“Because James didn’t ask you. I did. I got an alert when the police case was filed, and I assumed James would want us to look for Angus. I guess I was wrong.”

“What kind of father would leave his son in the hands of criminals?” Riley asks, horrified, “I can’t imagine what it would be like for Angus. Did he still live with James before he left for Afghanistan?”

“I don’t know,” Matty says, “James is very secretive about Angus. All I know is what is in the file.”

“There’s not a lot in there,” Jack says, “Just all the strings Oversight pulled for Angus and a few of Angus’ achievements.”

“Oversight is hiding something,” Riley says, “I would hack into his personal files, but we don’t have time for that right now.”

“She’s right,” Matty says, “We need to focus on finding Angus now. We can deal with James later.”

They all start going over all the information they have, but they can’t find anything new until Riley finally says, “I think I found something.”

“What is it?” Matty asks.

“Angus _may_ have been sending us a message with his blinking. It seems like some sort of code, but my systems can’t figure out what it is. It starts off like Morse Code, spelling out B-O-Z-E-R, but the rest of it is something else.”

“I remember seeing something in his file about a friend names Wilt Bozer. Maybe he’ll know what the rest of the code means,” Jack says.

“We can’t just go up to him and ask him. And we can’t show him the video either, it contains classified information and that will give James another excuse to arrest us,” Matty says.

“I’ll copy the pattern down onto something else and we can show him that. And we can pretend to be officers investigating his kidnapping,” Riley says.

“Sounds good to me,” Jack says.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while, but I haven't forgotten this, hopefully I can get back to weekly updates...

To say that Bozer is worried would be an understatement. It’s been a day since Mac went missing and almost 18 hours since he was informed about it.

He knows there’s nothing he can really do about it, just hope that the police can find him. He wants to help, but he doesn’t know anything about investigating a missing person.

He doesn’t even know why Mac was taken, but he suspects it has something to do with his work in the army. No, he hopes it has something to do with the army because he doesn’t want to think about what else anyone could possibly want from Mac.

He’s not particularly surprised when the muscular man shows up at his door followed by a woman with messy curly hair. He doesn’t open the door completely, only enough to stick his head out.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Jack Dalton and this is my partner Riley Davis. We’re here to ask you a few questions about Angus MacGyver.”

He eyes them warily, “You guys don’t look like cops.”

“We’re not,” Riley Davis answers, “We’re a more…covert organization.”

“So, like you guys are spies? Like CIA type spies? Wait, why would you tell me that?”

The man, Jack Dalton, sighs, “We can’t really tell you any more than we have. Now can we come in?”

Bozer eyes them for a few more seconds before letting them inside. He notice them glance around the house, but he don’t say anything to them until all three of them sit on the couch in the living room.

“What have you found out? Is he okay?” Bozer asks.

“We don’t know where he is,” Davis says, “But we did receive a hostage video a few hours ago.”

Bozer’s heart drops, “A hostage video? So, he’s alive right? Is he hurt?”

“Do you know why he was discharged from the army?” Dalton asks him.

“He was injured, but his injury should have healed by now.”

“It hasn’t,” Dalton says, “He is still alive, and we know he has that injury and he may have more.”

“What do they want from him?” Bozer asks.

“We can’t tell you that, it’s classified,” Davis says, “But we need your help with something. During the video, it seems like Angus is sending us a message. He uses Morse Code at first to spell out your name, but my systems can’t figure out what it means.”

He types something on her phone then hands it to him, “Here’s the pattern.”

He watches the pattern a few times while trying to match it to the secret code he and Mac made up together a long time ago.

“Are you sure this is right?” he asks Davis, “Can’t I watch the video?”

“We can’t let you watch the video, and this is exactly the pattern Angus uses.”

Bozer grabs a piece a paper and jots down ‘G5JJ2A4’ on it, “This is what I got from the pattern. I don’t know what it means though.”

He hands the paper to Dalton who looks at it, clearly trying to figure out what it means. Davis glances at it too for a few seconds before pulling out a laptop and starting to type something on it.

“It’s a license plate number,” Davis says in realization, “He must have seen the plate of the car of whoever took him.”

“And he remembered all the numbers?” Dalton asks.

“Mac’s a genius,” Bozer cuts in, “Of course he remembered all the numbers.”

Davis types something else in her laptop before closing it and standing up, “Thank you for your help Mr. Bozer.”

Dalton stands up as well, “We appreciate your assistance.”

“Wait you’re leaving? I can help you find him.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Bozer, but you’re a civilian. We can’t let you get involved in this.”

“I’m just worried. And I feel useless not being able to do anything for him.”

“You gave us a lead, and this might be enough information to find him. But we’ll keep you updated on our progress. You’ll be the first to know if we find him,” Dalton says.

“When you find him,” Bozer answers, “You’ll find him right?”

Dalton avoids his eyes when he says, “We’ll do our best.”

* * *

It’s been 2 days since he was kidnapped and now one full day since the video was shot. And Mac still doesn’t have a plan to escape.

He’s tried everything he could, and it’s only resulted in more bruises and pain for him. He hasn’t given up yet, but he knows no one is coming for him.

It’s likely that James just ignored the video as soon as he received it, if it even made it to him. 

These men have no reason to send the video to anyone who would see the message he hid in there, in a code only Bozer knew. He would’ve just put the whole message in Morse Code, but he knew these men were looking out for him to do that.

Mac groans as he slips from his seated position against the wall. His injuries protest loudly when he hits the ground. 

He lacks the energy to even push himself back up again, and he has no choice, but to just lie there. His pain seems to get worse as pressure is put directly on his half-healed bullet wound. He hasn’t been fed and he was only given a few sips of water.

He gives up trying to sit back up and can’t help the tears that start running down his face. He’s in pain, all alone, and no one is coming for him.

He doesn’t know what these men have planned for him, but he knows it isn’t anything good.

“Someone help me, please. Please help me,” he says through his sobs, “Please…”

But this isn’t like the movies where a hero comes in to rescue someone in need. This is real life. And no one is coming for him…


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for disappearing for so long, I've just been really busy with everything going on. I still plan on finishing this story and hopefully I can post more often. I hope everyone is staying safe and well in these times.

The license plate number turns out not to be a dead end. Riley explains that it was a fake license plate, but she managed to catch a car nearby the campus with the same number and use traffic cameras to trace it to a compound.

She also finds a video of several armed men dragging a man whose hands are bound behind his back with a bag over his head into the compound. That explains why Riley’s facial recognition system didn’t find him.

“So how are we going to get him out?” Riley asks after explaining everything.

Matty and Jack look at each other.

“I can get a TAC team for you, but I have to tell James something,” Matty finally says.

Riley smirks and Jack knows she has an idea for what to tell James, “I forgot to stop the facial recognition search for Angus, and it found him. We can’t just leave him there now we know where he is. And I’m sure Oversight won’t pass an opportunity to find whoever this Walsh is.”

“He’s former DXS,” Matty says, “That’s really all I can say about him. And I’ll get the TAC team, wheel’s up in an hour.”

Finally, they were going to get Angus out of there.

* * *

Jack feels calm as he and the TAC team take position near the compound. Riley is sitting in one of their vehicles nearby, supervising everything from her laptop. She tells them through comms that the compound is mostly empty, except for one area.

Jack assumes It’s likely that they are keeping Angus there. He signals to the rest of the team and together they breach the compound.

The armed guards stand no chance against them and they quickly take down everyone and make it to a cell and break down the door.

In the corner of the cell, there is a man curled up on the ground. It’s Angus. His blonde hair is caked with dirt and he’s covered in bruises. Jack can’t tell whether he’s asleep or unconscious, but he can tell that he’s in pain by the expression on his face. His hands are bound in front of him with tight ropes.

Jack kneels down next to him, “Angus?” he asks.

Angus stirs and opens his eyes. Now that Jack is closer to him, he can see how dried up tears have made a path through the dirt on his face.

Angus looks at him and seems to try and sit up but stops with a groan of pain.

“Careful, Angus,” Jack says, “We’re here to rescue you, I’m Jack Dalton.

“It’s Mac,” Angus says in a soft voice.

“Alright, Mac. I’m going to cut these ropes and then we’ll get you to the medical team. They’re waiting outside.”

He gently helps Mac sit up and lean against the wall. He cuts through the ropes around Mac’s wrists and winces at the cuts and rope burns left behind. Mac’s hands fall to ground and he sighs when the pressure from the ropes are released.

“Can you stand?” Jack asks.

Mac shakes his head.

“Alright,” he says, then he says into his comms, “Send the medical team in.”

Mac looks at him while they strap his to the bed and wheel him away, “Thank you.”

Jack follows them, he isn’t letting the kid out of his sight now.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in two days? I'm spoiling you guys ;)

Jack waits outside the hospital room, scanning the area for any potential threats. They still haven’t found Walsh, so there’s a chance that someone might try to kidnap Angus, no _Mac_ again.

The doctor and nurses leave the room and let him go inside, saying that Mac is resting, and he will be alright. They can’t give his any details about his injuries, but Jack can guess.

_Injured ribs, a probably reopened bullet wound, abrasions around the wrist, and a lot of bruises._

Mac’s breathing sounded clear and the fact that he was there as leverage means it’s likely he wasn’t tortured. But that’s no guarantee. Maybe these people were sick enough to torture him for fun.

When Jack goes into the hospital room, Mac is awake. He looks pale and skinny, with an IV coming out of his arm and some bandages around his wrists. Jack takes a seat besides his bed.

“Agent Dalton,” Mac says.

Jack hides his surprise. He’s seen Mac’s file, he knows he’s a genius. He should have figured that Mac would figure out he was some sort of agent.

“Mr. MacGyver,” Jack replies, “How are you feeling?”

“Please, call me Mac. And I’m feeling better,” he says, “Thank you for finding me.”

Jack lowers his head slightly in acknowledgement.

“How did you find me?” Mac asks.

“We got your message in the video.”

Mac narrows his eyes, “I thought that video was meant to be sent to my father.”

_So he doesn’t know about DXS._

“I uh, work for your father,” Jack says.

_He was going have to be read in anyways._

“You mean, you’ve talked to him before? Recently? And he works for some sort of intelligence agency?”

“He’s the head of our agency. It’s called the Department of External Services, DXS for short.”

“And where is it located?”

“In LA,” Jack says, a bit confused.

He had expected disbelief or surprise, he had no idea what Oversight’s cover story was, but he didn’t expect anger.

“You mean…he’s been here all along? And he hasn’t even bothered to contact me?”

“What-”

“Get out,” Mac yells.

“Mr. MacGyver-”

“GET OUT!”

Jack quickly stands up and takes position outside the room again. After a few seconds of hesitation, he pulls out his phone.

“Director,” he says, “I need some information about Oversight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with another chapter!!! Hope y'all enjoy!!!

Jack paced the area outside Mac’s room as he mentally went over the conversation he had with Mac and the one he had with Matty.

Matty had not known about any problems between Oversight and Mac and she promised she would look into it and report back to him.

Currently, Jack is wondering what to tell Wilt Bozer. When he makes up his mind, he dials the phone.

“Hello?” Wilt answers.

“Hello Mr. Bozer, this is Agent Dalton. I’m calling to inform you that we found Mr. MacGyver and he’s in the hospital, currently being treated for non-severe injuries.”

Jack hears a sigh of relief.

“Please just call me Bozer. Which hospital is he at?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. There is still a risk to Mr. MacGyver, and we haven’t caught the man who kidnapped him.”

“You can’t keep me from visiting him!” Bozer practically yells.

Jack sighs, “No we can’t. But do you think Mr. MacGyver would want you to come here and put yourself in danger? And you cannot tell anyone about any of this.”

There is silence for a few seconds before Bozer says, “Fine, I won’t come, but I want to talk to him. And if I can’t tell anyone, could you contact a friend of Mac’s and tell him Mac is okay? He’s deployed in Afghanistan right now, his name is Charlie Robinson.”

“I’ll have someone contact him,” Jack says before giving Bozer Mac’s hospital phone number, “Is there anyone else to contact?”

“Uh, no. Mac doesn’t have a lot of friends,” Bozer says.

_The poor kid_ …

They say their goodbyes and Jack hears Mac’s phone ring right away and Mac answer enthusiastically. He messages Riley to check who Charlie Robinson is and contact him if he’s clear. And then he continues pacing, trying not to listen in on Mac’s conversation.

After some time, Jack hears a call from inside the room.

“Agent Dalton?”

Jack sticks his head inside the room, “Do you need anything Mr. MacGyver?”

Mac makes a face, “Please call me Mac.”

“Then call me Jack. No need for the agent nonsense.”

“Why are you still here?” Mac asks.

“Security reasons. We still haven’t found Walsh, the man who got you kidnapped, and he might try to get you again.”

“Right, sorry about earlier, I shouldn’t have lashed out at you,” Mac says with a wince.

He seems to have curled up on himself and seems…scared?

_Why is he scared?_

Jack makes sure to not show any signs of anger as he says, “It’s fine. I think we had a misunderstanding.”

Mac nods, “Come in,” he says gesturing towards the chair next to his bed.

Jack comes in and takes a seat, leaning back and keeping his body language relaxed. He notices Mac noticing his gun on his side and somehow figuring out where the rest of his guns and weapons are hidden with just his eyes.

“So…?”

Mac sighs, “My Dad left me when I was 10. He went on a business trip and never came back, my grandfather raised me after that. He never contacted me or anything. I haven’t heard from him since then, I didn’t even know if he was alive or dead. I always thought he was involved in some sort of criminal activities which would explain how he disappeared so easily, but apparently he’s some secret agent who’s been here all along.”

Jack is silent. He expected something like this, but it still hurts to hear the pain in Mac’s voice. And he never liked Oversight, but this?

“Well that would explain why I never liked him,” Jack finally says, “He covered all that up. As far as everyone knows, you and him always had contact with each other.”

“You don’t like him? But you work for him,” Mac says looking confused.

“He’s the head of DXS. I work their because our former director hired me to work with someone I knew before, my partner Riley Davis. I didn’t even meet him for a few months after joining.”

Jack leans forward and whispers, “Don’t tell him this, but I think he’s an asshole. He’s so condescending, even towards Riley who’s the smartest person I’ve ever met. Hardest part of the day is not punching him.”

Mac cracks a smile, “So why did this Walsh person kidnap me and what did he want from James?”

“Oversight developed some sort of faulty drug that Walsh wants. Apparently he used to work for DXS in the past,” Jack says.

“So he got you and your partner to look for me?” Mac asks hopefully.

Jack winces, he does not want to tell Mac his father basically abandoned him again. But he’s not going to lie to him. So he tells Mac everything. He watches as the tears fill up Mac’s eyes and start running down his face.

Mac tries to turn his face away and muffle the sobs, but it doesn’t work. Jack looks away to give Mac some time to pull himself together.

“Thank you for telling me,” Mac finally says, “I need some time to…”

Jack nods and gets up, “Yeah of course. I’ll be right outside.”

Mac gives him a small smile as he leaves the room. Jack pulls out his phone and dials Matty’s number once again. He has to update her on a few things…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been forever, but here's a short chapter (don't worry, I haven't given up on this story)

Jack is not surprised to hear that Matty also has no idea about James abandoning Mac. She tells him to stay at the hospital and stay on guard while she figures things out. He calls Riley next who’s already on the way to the hospital.

He tells her everything and he can hear how angry she is at Oversight.

“Did you tell him about being told to drop the case?” she asks.

“Yes.”

“How did he take it?” she asks.

“As well as expected, he broke down and asked for some space. I’m outside his room right now.”

Riley doesn’t sound surprised. She tells him she is almost at the hospital then hangs up.

Jack doesn't have to wait long for Riley to show up. She is dressed more casually than him, most likely to try and blend in, with what he assumed was her laptop in her backpack and her weapons concealed.

“How are things here?” she asks him after giving him a quick hug.

“No activity at all,” he says, “Come on, let me introduced you.”

* * *

Riley waits while Jack pokes his head inside the hospital room and then gestures her inside after a second.

“Mac, this is my partner Agent Riley Davis. She was that one who figured out your location.”

Riley extends her hand to shake Mac’s, frowning lightly when she sees the bruises around his wrist, “Nice to meet you Mr. MacGyver. I’m glad you’re doing better.”

“Call me Mac. And...um thank you for finding me Agent Davis.”

“Riley, and no need to thank me,” Riley replies with a smile.

Riley turns towards Jack and tells him, “I’ve arranged for a safe house when Mac gets released from the hospital. And I contacted Charlie Robinson and let him know Mac was alright.”

“Charlie?” Mac cuts in, “Can I talk to him too?”

Riley and Jack both turn to look at him and Mac immediately cowers, making himself smaller.

“Um, I mean am I allowed to talk to him? I swear it won’t take long.”

Riley keeps her face neutral but feels angry.

_He was held captive, of course he would react like this_ , Riley thinks to herself, but it doesn’t really calm down the anger.

“We’re not holding you prisoner. You can call whoever you want. You can even refuse to stay under our protection, though that would not be advised as Walsh is looking for you,” Riley says.

Mac slowly swallows, “So I could call Bozer again?”

“Of course you can,” Jack says, “You’re free to do what you want.”

“What if I want to talk to my dad?” Mac challenges.

Riley can feel Jack tense up next to her, “Then we would pass on the message to him. But I can’t guarantee he would…”

“He would what?” Mac asks.

“That he would talk to you,” Riley says quietly.

Riley sees the anguish in Mac’s eyes, that quickly disappears.

“I’m sorry, kid,” Jack says.

Riley can’t tell whether the surprised look on Mac’s face is from the apology or nickname. She doesn’t think she can stand to stay here much longer. Mac reminds her too much of herself before she met Jack and it pains her to see it.

“No need to apologize,” Mac practically mumbles, avoiding eye contact with them.

“Do you want to call Mr. Bozer?” Jack asks.

Mac shakes his head, “I think I should get some rest.”

“Of course,” Jack says, “Do you want us to go outside?”

Mac shrugs, curling up under his thin blanket.

“If you need anything just let us know,” Jack says gesturing Riley outside.

Mac says a soft “okay” before Jack and Riley leave the room, quietly closing the door to Mac’s room.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think about this!!!


End file.
